Inland Flooding in the City of Winchester

Virginians across the commonwealth are experiencing growing flood risk, from more frequent and intense storms, sea level rise, and increasing ‘sunny day’ flooding. This puts our communities, infrastructure, businesses and ecosystems at risk. The Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund (CFPF) was developed to provide support for regions, localities, and tribes to reduce the impacts of flooding statewide and is funded by RGGI proceeds. The Fund is operated by the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) with implementation and management assistance from the Virginia Resources Authority.

In 2021, Virginia received $102.4 million for the CFPF. Over the next ten years, RGGI proceeds could generate upwards of $750 million for the CFPF – but only if Virginia stays in RGGI.

The CFPF provides loans and grants for projects, studies, capacity building, and planning anywhere in the Commonwealth. These projects identify and address vulnerability for communities from sea level rise, stormwater, tidal flooding, and other flood risks.

In order to be eligible for project implementation funds, applicants must have an approved resilience plan, for which they can apply for funding to develop. CFPF funds can build capacity in localities that otherwise would not have the resources to develop comprehensive flood vulnerability assessments and develop and implement action-oriented flood mitigation approaches (think: new FTEs, contractor support, planning efforts).

The CFPF prioritizes community-scale projects that can provide benefits to multiple properties or a whole community. Also prioritized are projects that utilize nature-based solutions, such as stormwater parks and greenways, wetland restoration, living shorelines, permeable pavement, and more. The CFPF must allocate no less than 25% of funding for applications in low-income geographic areas, as defined by state code.